J-Novel Club Launches New Streaming, E-book Publishing Service for Japanese Light Novels
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – October 15th, 2016 – J-Novel Club LLC is proud to announce the launch of J-Novel Club, a new digital publisher specializing in English editions of Japanese light novels! Visit j-novel.club to learn how to sign up, check out free previews of our series, and discuss the latest light novel news on our forums.
Light novels, a type of Japanese novel targeting young adult audiences, have been enjoying a rise in popularity overseas alongside anime, video games, and manga. J-Novel Club will license the latest and greatest Light Novels from Japan, and release them in weekly installments for J-Novel Club Members on our website, j-novel.club and also on the J-Novel Club App for iOS and Android. When translations are finished, final collectible-quality e-books will be sold at all major e-book retailers like Amazon, Kobo, iBooks, and more.
J-Novel Club access will be only $4.50 a month for an annual membership, and gives you a new chapter a week from all of our series! We will be announcing at least 10 series and continuing to add to our lineup over the next few months. Members get access to a special members only forum for discussing the latest releases. There is also a Premium Membership option, which gives you a free premium e-book version of one of any book in our catalog each month, saving you 20% or more off the retail price, and nabbing you a special high quality e-book with hi-res images!
J-Novel Club is proud to be partnering with two publishers for our launch titles: Hobby Japan and OVERLAP.
“It has been 10 years since we launched our light novel label here at Hobby Japan, with the theme of "Entertainment for Teenagers and up!" And on this anniversary it is our great pleasure to newly introduce our works to not only North America but to all of the English-speaking world. Together with J-Novel Club we are able to present these exciting books to readers around the world, and we sincerely wish you enjoy this new form of entertainment and take these stories To Heart.”
HJ Bunko Editor in Chief Yoshihiko Udagawa
“It is really exciting to be part of the launch of J-Novel Club. With its new business model of streaming timely English translations, J-Novel Club will enable people all around the world to read this new type of literature called 'light novels.' We sincerely wish that readers will take this opportunity to discover and enjoy new works on J-Novel Club.”
OVERLAP, Inc.
President Nagata Katsuharu
Launch Lineup:
Our first title is the world's first “simultaneous release of the original light novel with its anime adaptation”, from the author of Steins;Gate.
Occultic;Nine by Chiyomaru Shikura, Illustrations by pako
Worldwide English Digital Rights
Q: Do you believe in ghosts?
A: Of course not!
Yuta Gamon, a young boy who lives in Kichijoji, runs an occult blog called "Kirikiri Basara." He spends his days dreaming of making a fortune off his affiliate links. What starts off as a tiny feeling that something's wrong develops into a case that goes beyond imagination. Suddenly, Yuta brings together the fates of nine strangers.
Black magic, the afterlife, psychics, fortune-telling, other dimensions, prophecies, hypnosis, urban legends... The world is filled with flim-flam!
This is the first book in the Paranormal NVL Occultic;Nine series, from the mind behind Steins;Gate and Chaos;Child! An anime adaptation is airing and streaming worldwide Fall 2016.
Our next book won the Silver Prize in the 2nd Overlap Light Novel Competition, from a talented up-and-coming author!
Brave Chronicle - The Ruinmaker by Kenya Atsui, Illustrations by Saori Toyota
君から受け継ぐ英雄系譜<ブレイブ・クロニクル> Worldwide English Digital Rights
Meet Kurono Kokuya, a student in the lowest rank at Star Gate Academy – the world's cutting-edge training facility for star sorcerers, the beings who use star sorcery to protect the Earth from otherworld invasions. His childhood friend Yukihime Yukigane just happens to be the world's strongest star sorcerer, and she never lets him forget that fact. One day, their days of peace are interrupted by a powerful threat from another world. Kokuya and Yukihime stand on the front lines, risking their lives to protect those they love, but will they be able to defeat the Dark Lord Redge and his cruel minions?
What do you get when you combine vampires, serial killers, zombies, witches, a bevy of crazy girls, high school, and a nutty older sister? The very definition of what makes light novels so fun!
My Big Sister Lives in a Fantasy World by Tsuyoshi Fujitaka, Illustrations by An2A
お姉ちゃんは中二病 Worldwide English Digital Rights
One day, first year high school student Yuichi Sakaki suddenly awakens the power of “Soul Reader” within him, and he can see words above people's heads that describe their true nature! With just a glance at the people around him, he sees crazy things like “Zombie”, “Witch”, and “Vampire”... That would be bad enough, but then there is “Serial Killer” Natsuki Takeuchi walking straight toward him... Nobody would ever believe him! Well, except for his older sister Mutsuko: This kind of stuff is right up her alley.
Our final launch title marked simultaneously the high point and low point of the “little sister boom” in the early 2010s... Brutal satire of the genre? Or heartfelt cry for acceptance? Maybe both?
My Little Sister Can Read Kanji by Takashi Kanjii, Illustrations by Halki Minamura
僕の妹は漢字が読める Worldwide English Digital Rights
The year is 2202, and Japan has become the land of moe. Aspiring author Gin Imose and his little sister Kuroha are traveling to TOKYO to meet with the world famous author, Gai Odaira. Kuroha is uninterested in his orthodox literary style, and amazingly is able to read ancient modern Japanese books written in kanji! This fateful encounter sets off a chain of events that could change the course of literary history! Could it be that, long ago, books could be about more than little sisters showing their panties and getting in compromising situations with their non-blood-related older brothers? Impossible! It's hard to even imagine a Japan where everyone could read kanji and the Prime Minister was a 3D human being...
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